I feel like my actions are finally becoming effective for meeting my goals of incorporating more technology in my classroom and managing my time to investigate education technology. Today was the first day of the first week in December, and I spent about thirty-five minutes (one of my planning periods) looking into some different tools I can use in my classroom. My main focus today was on using Activote software with my board, so students can each have their own remote to select answers for questions or quizzes that I post on the activboard. I think it will take me a couple more sessions to perfect it, as there is a lot of preparation necessary, but I am moving in the right direction, finally!
After reading the course text (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009) about some technology tools I can use in my mathematics classroom, I returned to familiar concerns about calculator use in my classroom. My students are permitted to use calculators on assignments and most assessments because I feel they allow students to focus their attention on the more complicated aspects of new concepts. However, my current eighth graders do not seem to have a strong foundation of manual calculations, which I know is partially due to a teacher-related issue that inhibited their learning during sixth grade. A new aspect I want to make sure to research when I am investigating classroom technology is how I can allow students to use assistive technology, like calculators, but also have extra skill-builders on the side to ensure that they have the appropriate paper-pencil capabilities when they enter high school.
Reference:
Cennamo, K., Ross, J. & Ertmer, P. (2009). Technology Integration for Meaningful Classroom Use: A Standards-Based Approach. (Laureate Education, Inc., Custom ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning
At one time students at certain grade levels were not allowed to use calculators.But that has gradually changed and I believe it may no longer be the case these days for several reasons.One of such reasons is the fact that it allows students to focus their attention on the more complicated aspects as you rightly mentioned in your post.However,I am of the opinion that students should be made to carry out some of the basic mathematical operations manually and then given the chance to do the same using calculators.That way they would be be able to acquire the skills to solve the problems without calculators if the need arises.The students need both skills in using the calculator and the paper pencil capability.They need to know some of the concepts behind the problems that they are using calculators to solve.Cennamo,Ross,and Ertmer(2009) suggest that we should keep the options for students manageable and focused on the learning outcomes, rather than the materials they use when incorporating technology tools in our UDL implementation.
ReplyDeleteReference
Cennamo, K., Ross, J. & Ertmer, P. (2009). Technology Integration for Meaningful Classroom Use: A Standards-Based Approach. (Laureate Education, Inc., Custom ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning
You bring up an interesting point that I often debate with myself when trying to teach my special education students basic addition, subtraction, multiplication and division facts as well as extended computation. My students have difficulty memorizing their facts and the steps for solving problems. I use a variety of strategies, my favorite being Touchmath, when trying to help them learn these skills.
ReplyDeleteI do agree that these are important skills to learn, but at the same time I wonder if I spend to much time emphasizing them. Calculators are everywhere now, including the cell phones are students carry. I have access to a calculator more easily sometimes then paper and pencil. I am guilty myself of using a calculator for simple computing that I am more than capable of completing without the tool. It is just easier in my mindset to use the calculator.
Whether a student really needs to memorize facts is a debate that you may find me on either side depending on the day you ask me.
I use activotes a lot in class and I like them a lot. I often use them to check skills at the end of a lesson though I have noticed that as I continue using them they are actually becoming harder to use. Three years ago when we first got our Promethean boards and activotes students were enamored with the new technology. Now my students are much less excited about using them. The one thing that I will suggest which I think is important to the success of activotes is assigning each student a specific voting device. If I don't do this I will often have 2 or 3 students who do not answer and a few more that just guess. As soon as I assign specific votes to each student I get much more participation.
ReplyDeleteFor calculators, there are several parts of the NC Algebra I test, such as line of best fit, that require a calculator and several other problems, like systems of equations, that become much easier using different calculator techniques other than basic functions. This makes calculators essential for my class. I do think students are too dependent on calculators at an early age and I think there are very few good reasons to have elementary students use calculators. Most of the math done in elementary schools should be focused on elementary skills and most of the math done after that should be using those elementary skills to solve more complex problems. If your students have weak basic skills you could always test them. Have times tests, division tests, or fraction tests each week and have students drill on these skills.
Ashlee,
ReplyDeleteI like how you say that with teaching the new technology we are promoting life-long learning for our students. As a high school math teacher, I want to prepare my students for what they will encounter when they move on to the next level of education. As I read through your posts and everyone else’s posts I see where we have all made advances in our own ability to use and teach with this new technology. Good job on implementing this into your lessons. It sounds as though your students will be well prepared when they move on trough high school and even on to college or a higher level of education.